IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-04835-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mentor support and postdoctoral sustainable careers: evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Hongfeng Song

    (Beijing Forestry University)

  • Anqi Hu

    (Beijing Forestry University)

  • Xueyan Li

    (Renmin University of China)

Abstract

Postdocs encounter numerous challenges as they transition from students to independent scholars, with the sustainability of their academic careers often marked by uncertainty and obstacles. While the career challenges faced by postdocs have attracted considerable attention, research on their career development from a sustainable perspective remains limited. Given China’s increasing emphasis on building scientific and technological talent to drive the development of New Quality Productive Forces, this study aims to explore the relationship between mentor support and sustainable careers, focusing on the roles of work engagement and academic career identity among Chinese postdocs based on Conservation of Resources theory. Based on analyses of 343 questionnaires from Chinese postdocs, the results indicate that mentor support is significantly and positively associated with postdocs’ employability, subjective career success, and mental health—three key indicators of sustainable careers. The mediation effect analyses demonstrate that work engagement and academic career identity simultaneously and sequentially mediate the relationship between mentor support and sustainable careers. This study not only offers new insights into how mentor support, as an essential job resource, contributes to postdoctoral career sustainability, complementing the existing literature on mentor support and sustainable careers, but also provides valuable practical guidance for postdoctoral stations on how to enhance postdoctoral career sustainability by strengthening the role of mentors.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongfeng Song & Anqi Hu & Xueyan Li, 2025. "Mentor support and postdoctoral sustainable careers: evidence from China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04835-7
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-04835-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-04835-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-04835-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric S. Lin & Shih-Yung Chiu, 2016. "Does Holding a Postdoctoral Position Bring Benefits for Advancing to Academia?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 57(3), pages 335-362, May.
    2. Jia Song & Zunwei Yang, 2023. "Striving Transition for University Academics: The Academic Role Identity of Young Postdocs at Universities in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    3. Hayter, Christopher S. & Parker, Marla A., 2019. "Factors that influence the transition of university postdocs to non-academic scientific careers: An exploratory study," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 556-570.
    4. Suwaiba Afonja & Damonie G Salmon & Shadelia I Quailey & W Marcus Lambert, 2021. "Postdocs’ advice on pursuing a research career in academia: A qualitative analysis of free-text survey responses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Barry Bozeman & Monica Gaughan, 2011. "Job Satisfaction among University Faculty: Individual, Work, and Institutional Determinants," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 82(2), pages 154-186, March.
    6. Chris Woolston, 2020. "Postdoc survey reveals disenchantment with working life," Nature, Nature, vol. 587(7834), pages 505-508, November.
    7. Jean-Pierre Neveu & Stevan E. Hobfoll & Jonathon Halbesleben & M Westman, 2018. "Conservation of resources in the organizational context : the reality of resources and their consequences," Post-Print hal-02472360, HAL.
    8. Jean F. Liénard & Titipat Achakulvisut & Daniel E. Acuna & Stephen V. David, 2018. "Intellectual synthesis in mentorship determines success in academic careers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Smirnova, Inna & Shannon, Austin & Teplitskiy, Misha, 2025. "The effect of trainee career intentions on mentor's interest in the trainee: Experimental evidence from academia," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(5).
    2. Hao Zhou & Xinyi Sheng & Yulin He & Xiaoye Qian, 2020. "Ethical Leadership as the Reliever of Frontline Service Employees’ Emotional Exhaustion: A Moderated Mediation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Lu, Wei & Ren, Yan & Huang, Yong & Bu, Yi & Zhang, Yuehan, 2021. "Scientific collaboration and career stages: An ego-centric perspective," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4).
    4. Nguyen, Bach & Tran, Hai-Anh & Stephan, Ute & Van, Ha Nguyen & Anh, Pham Thi Hoang, 2024. "“I can't get it out of my mind” - Why, how, and when crisis rumination leads entrepreneurs to act and pivot during crises," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4).
    5. Frederic-Alexander Starmann Author-1-Name-First: Frederic-Alexander Author-1-Name-Last: Starmann, 2025. "No Way Back? The Challenges of Reintegrating Corporate Entrepreneurs After Project Termination," Working Papers Dissertations 153, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    6. Wendian Shi & Feng Wang & Xiujun Li, 2021. "Depletion Effect of Work-Leisure Conflict: A Daily Diary Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(1), pages 297-317, November.
    7. Abdelrahman A. A. Abdelghani & Hebatallah A. M. Ahmed & Ahmad M. A. Zamil & Osman Elsawy & Sameh Fayyad & Ibrahim A. Elshaer, 2025. "Gossip Gone Toxic: The Dual Role of Self-Esteem and Emotional Contagion in Counterproductive Workplace Behavior," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Xie, Junyi & Ifie, Kemefasu & Gruber, Thorsten, 2022. "The dual threat of COVID-19 to health and job security – Exploring the role of mindfulness in sustaining frontline employee-related outcomes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 216-227.
    9. Rakesh Belwal & Shweta Belwal & Suhaila Ebrahim AlHashemi, 2024. "Disentangling work–family conflict, support, and turnover intentions: quanti–quali mixed method approach," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(3), pages 2591-2617, June.
    10. Mohd Fadhli Mohd Fauzi & Hanizah Mohd Yusoff & Rosnawati Muhamad Robat & Nur Adibah Mat Saruan & Khairil Idham Ismail & Ahmad Firdaus Mohd Haris, 2020. "Doctors’ Mental Health in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Work Demands and Recovery Experiences," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-16, October.
    11. Jia Song & Zunwei Yang, 2023. "Striving Transition for University Academics: The Academic Role Identity of Young Postdocs at Universities in China," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    12. Liu, Jing & Hsu, Fu-Chieh & Bai, Yunkai & Mai, Huiwen, 2024. "A dual-benefit perspective of business travel," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    13. Martin Hoegl & Silja Hartmann, 2021. "Bouncing back, if not beyond: Challenges for research on resilience," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(4), pages 456-464, September.
    14. Corsini, Alberto & Pezzoni, Michele & Visentin, Fabiana, 2022. "What makes a productive Ph.D. student?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(10).
    15. Xiaoxia Huang & Yuyin Liu & Jing Zhao, 2024. "The Impacts of Work-Family Conflict and Corporate Innovation on Organizational Performance," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(2), pages 21582440241, May.
    16. Wenjun Wu & Dengke Yu, 2023. "The role of individual perceptions in the completion of formalistic tasks," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.
    17. Bora Ly, 2025. "Advancing Employability in Cambodia: The Synergistic Effects of Training, Adaptability, and Organizational Culture," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 26(1), pages 163-186, March.
    18. Yi Wang & Xianfang Xue & Han Guo, 2022. "The Sustainability of Market Orientation from a Dynamic Perspective: The Mediation of Dynamic Capability and the Moderation of Error Management Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Fu Yang & Xiaoyu Huang & Hong Deng & Jacqueline Coyle-Shapiro & Mengying Xie & Zihan Zhou, 2025. "Managers Behaving Unethically: Coping with the Ebb and Flow of Job Insecurity Through Abusive Supervision," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 549-563, July.
    20. Shibayama, Sotaro, 2019. "Sustainable development of science and scientists: Academic training in life science labs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 676-692.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-04835-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.